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German Tax Refund Application

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German Pension Refunds (Rentenversicherung)

If you're a resident of a non-European Union country and have worked in Germany, you may have paid into a pension fund. Pension Insurance Contributions (Rentenversicherung) in Germany are usually 9.75% of your salary.

Once you have been out of Germany for at least two years, we can apply to get all your pension payments refunded. Taxback.com customers get an average pension insurance refund of €3032 from Germany.

To be eligible to claim a German pension refund, you must be a resident of a non-EU country (excluding Turkey, Israel and the former Yugoslavian states) and you must have paid contributions into the German Pension Fund for less than 60 months (5 years).

We can apply for unclaimed German pension refunds for as far back as 15 years so it can be very lucrative.

Frequently asked questions

?I paid pension contributions (Rentenversicherung) in Germany – can I get that money back?

If you're a resident of a non-EU country (excluding Turkey, Israel and the former Yugoslavian states) and have worked in Germany, you may have paid into a pension fund and we can get that tax back for you. Our average German pension insurance refund is €3032! Pension Insurance Contributions (Rentenversicherung) are usually about 9.75% of your salary so it's worth checking out if we can get that back for you.

To get a refund, you must be a non-EU citizen (excluding Turkey, Israel and the former Yugoslavian states). The other requirements are that you paid pension insurance for less than five years in Germany and you've been out of the country for more than two years. We can apply for unclaimed pension refunds as far back as 15 years and to do it we'll need your payslips for all the years you worked in Germany. Download the German Pension Refund Pack today or register online.

?When can I get my pension refund?

If you worked in Germany after 1995 and have been out of the country for more than two years, we can claim your refund straight away so apply for your German Pension Refund today or download the German Pension Refund Pack now.

If it’s less than two years since you left Germany, you need to wait until two years have passed before you apply.

?How much money will I get back?

Taxback.com will get you back all the pension insurance contributions you paid into your German pension fund. The average pension refund we get for our German clients is €3032.

?How long will it take to receive my German pension refund?

As soon as we receive your pension refund, you'll have it. We’ll contact you immediately when we receive your refund to organise the easiest way to get it to you.

You can watch the step-by-step progress of your application on your online Tax Tracker® account. It'll go something like this:

Once we get your documents, it takes us just one week to prepare your German Pension Insurance Contributions refunds. The total estimated time for your German pension rebate is six months. The process involves the following:

Receiving and checking the documents

Estimating your refund

Completing your forms

Sending them to the pension fund office

Once your application has been lodged, it takes about six months to process, depending on how many applications are being processed by the pension office at the time. However, our team will keep chasing the pension office to see how your application is progressing and we will keep you updated along the way.

As soon as we receive your refund, we'll contact you to sort out the best way to get your refund sent to you.

?How does taxback.com work?

Here's how our easy three-step service works:Register online or get a FREE online refund estimation and then download the TaxPack for German tax returns.Send us your documents and signed forms. We'll estimate your refund and give you an online tracking account (Tax Tracker®). If you're missing any documents we can get replacements for you.Relax while we file your tax return and get you the maximum possible legal refund.

?How do I know what's happening with my pension refund?

You can watch the step-by-step progress of your application on your online Tax Tracker® account. We'll set you up with this when you register.

?What are the advantages of using taxback.com?

Thousands of people choose our service because:

We get you the maximum legal refund

FREE online refund estimations

Every customer gets a Personal Online Tracking Account – you can follow your tax return every step of the way

All our German tax returns are legal and compliant with German tax law.

?How much will it cost?

First of all, our FREE Online Refund Estimation costs you nothing - just a few minutes to fill it out. We'll email your refund estimation straight to your personal email with no obligation to use our service.When you send us your documents and signed forms, we'll evaluate your refund and what additional services you need such as document retrieval. Then we'll let you know how much it will cost to file your return for you.For tax refunds from Germany, we charge 16.5% + handling fee of the refund received, subject to a minimum fee of €50+ handling fee.

?Why the minimum fee?

Our fee covers all the things that make filing your German tax return with us so easy such as:

Customer support 24/7 by phone and Live Chat

Online tracking service in seven languages

Free phone and free fax

Local staff to meet you and guide you through the process in 18 offices worldwide

Tax technicians

Researchers to identify new legal developments to maximise your refunds

?Oops - I lost my documents / Help - I never got my documents – what do I do?

We know it's easy to lose documents in the move back home or to not even receive them in the first place. That's why we have a document retrieval service to organise replacements for you. If you're missing documents, just contact us at germany@taxback.com and we'll sort it out for you.

?Can you guarantee that I'll receive the refund amount you estimated for me?

No, but we do guarantee to get you the most money back that we legally can.

Our estimate is based on your documents and our experience in filing thousands of tax returns every week since 1996. Naturally, the German tax authority has the final decision in your tax refund based on their systems and tax codes.

When our tax technicians prepare and file your returns, they check for any allowances or benefits you could get and ensure we apply for the maximum rebate possible.

In addition to your pension refund, we can also provide your German income tax refund

The average German tax refund is €1020. The amount you get back depends on a number of factors such as what type of job you worked at, how long you were in Germany and how much tax you paid. When you apply for a German tax refund, we will look at your individual circumstances to find out how much you’re owed. Find out more about claiming a tax refund from Germany here.

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Useful German Pension Facts

If you worked in Germany after 1995 and have been out of the country for more than two years, you are eligible to claim your pension refund.

The average pension refund we get for our German clients is €3032.

Once your application has been lodged, it takes about six months to process.

Once we get your documents, it takes us just one week to prepare your German Pension Insurance Contributions refunds.

We provide tax refunds from 13 different countries

Find Out More

If you’ve worked in any other countries, we can also help you get a tax refund from there. We provide tax refunds from 13 different countries including Australia, Ireland, the US, New Zealand and Canada. Whether you spent a gap year overseas as a student or worked abroad, we can check out what you’re owed for free. Boost your savings by applying for another tax refund today. Find out more about the tax refunds we provide here.

TAXBACK.COM Reviews & Feedback

Customer Corner

Great customer service who kept in contact and offered assistance. Very happy with thus well run service

06 December 2017

Helene Blimo

There is always someone to get back to you and very quickly it is very comforting.

04 December 2017

Mary Kelly

Constant updates and it reminded me to send in documentation that I would have forgotten

01 December 2017

Zuzana

You always kept me updated

29 November 2017

Paul O'Brien

It just takes all the hassle out of tax refunds something I know very little about.

29 November 2017

John McHugh

The helpfulness & friendliness of the staff.

27 November 2017

Jose Manuel

The fact that I was updated every single step of the way

26 October 2017

Velichko Baltashki

The team is very kind and helpful.

25 October 2017

Tiziana

the tax back staff is very professional and helpful

24 October 2017

Julianna Kelly

The friendly helpful staff

24 October 2017

Anthony Smith

Very efficent

23 October 2017

Ela Roslender

Everything that was needed was requested in the beginning so no delays, also my agent who kept me informed about the process by phone and / or email, so I knew what was happening. I made little to no effort and got this complicated task ( tax back ) done by you guys, it`s brilliant!!